Kicking Against Tradition: A Career in Women's Football by Wendy Owen

Book review: This book "is about how a whole new generation of girls and young women, inspired by the heroics of the England men's team in the 1966 World Cup, refused to be denied access to the people's game any longer and began literally kicking against tradition." That tradition being the infamous 1921 FA ban on women players playing on FA pitches, the ban only being reversed in 1970, and the culture at the time ("I was very aware that in wider society it was not considered to be a very suitable game for girls").

In particular the book is about Wendy Owen, a player for the very first England team. She covers her formative years, about how she liked Leeds United as a child, how she went to Craven Cottage and Wembley to see matches. Then it goes into her playing career with particular focus on her Thame Ladies and England days. This section includes a handful of scans/photos of programme covers/line-ups for big games and a letter confirming her selection for England, all very historical items now.

Then her coaching career is covered as she coached girls/women (and boys/men) in the USA, including working for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the NASL heyday, and in England ("It was great to be able to offer the kind of opportunities to female players and coaches that had not been available to me in my early career in football"). 

The rest of the book covers her assessment of the game over the years. Things like media coverage, how women's football compares across the eras and across the oceans, and what the future (to 2005 when this book was published) might hold. All from the viewpoint of "an ex-England international, coach to a university college women's football team, an FA coach educator and a senior lecturer in sport and exercise science".

The book is therefore part history of the women's game (for a period where information is scarce) and part comment on it, but for someone with an interest in the sport it will be a good read.

Amazon UK link: KICKING AGAINST TRADITION

World War II (What They Don't Tell You About) by Bob Fowke

Book review: History was never cool when I went to school but nowadays it is, and this is all because of Horrible Histories. This book has clearly been influenced by the Horrible History series of books, and that is no bad thing. 

This book tells the story of World War II in child-friendly text with definitions of possible unfamiliar words such as allies and evacuation. The book goes from the beginning of the war to the end and even covers a little of the aftermath. The title says "what they DON'T tell you about" but I would say that it actually covers the main facts, things like the reasons for the war starting, main events during the war such as the retreat at Dunkirk and the Normandy landings and so on. And there are plenty of black and white pictures along the way to enjoy too,

My 9-year-old daughter says "It has lots of amazing facts and a quiz at the end which tests your knowledge." History is now indeed cool.

Available now on AMAZON!!!!!

I Lost my Heart to the Belles by Pete Davies

Book review: “They’re footballers, absolutely typical footballers – not like the untypical few who make thousands a week, but typical like the tens of thousands who play every weekend because they love it… Typical footballers. Except they’re women” 

That’s what this book is. Pete Davies has gone into a football club and followed them the whole season. Not just any football club though, this is the best in the land, the double winners of the previous season – Doncaster Belles.

What follows is a match-by-match run through of their 94-95 season with unprecedented access to the dressing room. Stirring team talks are included. The team camaraderie and banter is included. You get to follow players playing for the love of the game, not for the money. 

In between the matches the author also profiles the players in their lives away from football, at their homes, their workplaces, their social hangouts. Of course at the time of this book the top women’s players in England were all amateurs. 

And at the end of the book England’s progress at the 1995 Women’s World Cup is covered. This allows the author to discuss the state of English women’s football compared to other countries, the FA at the time only recently having taken over running the game, although not necessarily with the correct attitude. 

Of course this book is now 20 years old and these days the top women’s teams in the country have professional players and the FA is definitely more behind women playing football but it is good to look back and see where the game has come from, the struggle to get to where we are today, where there is still a massive gulf between women’s football and men’s.

Available on Amazon: I LOST MY HEART TO THE BELLES